I’ve been married for 13 years this August. I’ve been a mom for over 11 years. These are very important roles for me – loving my husband and children, taking care of them, providing for them, etc. But sadly, they have often taken a back seat to my career and the busyness of life. Several years ago God started to put on my heart that they are more than just my family. They are my mission field.
In August 2014 I was sitting in a Bible study on Gideon (by Priscilla Shirer) at the Gretna United Methodist Church and I was praying for God to reveal his grand purpose for my life (and I was convinced it was grand) and it suddenly hit me: My purpose was to be a missionary. In my house. To the man I married and the two children I love.
And I’m embarrassed to say, since then I’ve had a million excuses not take that mission seriously. But God keeps bringing me back. I keep looking for my grand purpose in my career. Or a grand purpose through other “mission” work – service projects, church volunteering, humanitarian organizations, christian ministries, etc. And while all that is important and good, God keeps bringing me back to that calling I heard several years ago. He closed the door to my old life as a political fundraiser, so I took another full-time job in a non-profit organization. He closed that door. He is telling me over and over that my mission field is right here. In this house.
My number one priority is to spend time with him every day and follow him.
My number two priority is to minister to my husband and children.
I get it. I finally get it and accept it, but it is still a struggle. I’m learning what it means to be a missionary; usually by way more trial and error than success. I’m learning to resist the daily temptation to start chasing a “mission” that looks a lot more exciting than Mom/Wife. But I feel at peace that I am finally in the place God wants me. And I know he’ll give me the strength to run this race and will guide me to the end.
P.S. I’m reading through the Bible in a Year – using the YouVersion or Bible.com app. My reading today was a good reminder on my keeping my priorities straight, following God’s direction, and the importance of observing the greatness of God and passing on that message to the next generation. Psalm 48:12-14: Walk around Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. (NIV)
Becoming Mary 